Build schedule accelerated

PPM Energy, the second-leading builder of wind projects in America after FPL, has recast its development goals and now expects to reach 3500 MW by 2010 -- a 50% increase on earlier plans. It is aiming to add 857 MW of wind power to its books before the end of 2007, with 362 MW slated to be operational this year, including the 200 MW Big Horn Wind Project in Washington, the 100 MW Leaning Juniper Wind Project in Oregon and a 62 MW expansion of the Maple Ridge Wind Farm in New York. The company has also started construction on the 75 MW Twin Buttes project in Colorado, which will come online next year.

Since the start of its financial year last April, PPM has completed 598 MW of new wind projects: the 100 MW Trimont project in Minnesota, the 150 MW Elk River project in Kansas, the 150 MW Shiloh project in California and the first 198 MW of the Maple Ridge project in New York, a joint project with Horizon Wind Energy.

To supply its future projects, PPM has inked turbine agreements with Vestas, Mitsubishi, Siemens and General Electric--all for 2006 and 2007 delivery. The company declines to be specific about the volume of capacity ordered from each company. "By securing sufficient turbine supplies, PPM can maintain a leadership position in the US wind power industry," says the company's Terry Hudgens.

PPM, a subsidiary of Glasgow-based ScottishPower, is based in Portland, Oregon, and has more than 1700 MW of wind energy in operation or under construction. Wind power accounts for about 1.5% of the electricity consumed in the Pacific Northwest, as compared with less than 1% nationwide.